The temperature has been slowly but steadily rising lately and yesterday I got the chance for an afternoon session on the rocks. Felt like a good opportunity to try out my new Light Game travel rod, the MajorCraft Crostage CRX-784LG. I have been looking for ages into something that could cover a larger variety and weights of light lures than the usual 7ft 0.5-5gr LRF rods as from my experience when holiday fishing you need to be more flexible.
Was on the rocks by about 16:00 and had another hour till high tide. The place was alive with birdlife and I was sure I'd find plenty of coalies to have fun with.
As I was expecting fish to be slightly deeper still, I put on a 13gr Breaden Metalmaru, a prawn imitating lure that casts well and works well with slow retrieve and light jerks. Also, it has a nice fall due to the little spinner at the tail.
Within the first couple casts, I got hit OTD near the bottom! The fish felt heavy and it clearly wasn't the intended target. I seemed to have located a group of medium-sized pollack that would intercept my metal lures (lost the metalmaru on the third fish ðŸ˜). For some reason, fish tend to hit better OTD early on in the season and I find that the fall rate is a very important factor...
Seeing that there were larger fish in the area I took out the heavier gear and put on a 30g pink slow jig. I thought that it was still a small profile yet it was a slimmer model and sunk faster than the usual wide slow jigs. I suppose that the faster slow rate along with the pink colour might have put off the fish as I didn't get a single bite after 20mins of covering the same area!
I decided to switch to a more natural coloured (blue) jig, yet heavier (50g) but with a slower fall due to the wide shape. Also, this jig had more action during the retrieve. I was thinking that the most important factor was the slow fall and natural look of the lure and after a few casts over already-covered ground, I got a hit and soon after landed a decent fish.
After another one on the heavier gear, I decided to switch back to the light rod as its just so much more fun and I was sure that the coalies wouldn't be too far..
After a few more pollock landed and lost I started to get hits up in the water column and towards the end of the retrieve... Finally, the coalies were in and I managed to get a few nice ones!
What surprised me was that most of the fish were neatly hooked on the lips and at times only from one hook of the treble... Most missed hits didn't follow up and also a few fish got unhooked during the fight... Also, plenty of fish still with lice and worms on them...This leads me to believe that the fish though relatively well grouped, weren't actually feeding very aggressively and the 'attractiveness' of the light presentation was what made them commit. Reckon a few more weeks and they will be in proper form!
I have to say that I was very impressed with the rod... Its medium actioned and bends nicely into those better fish while still having a very sensitive tip that lets you know what a 4g blade is doing 20m down. It was more comfortable with metals up to 13g and even though its rated to 15g, its a much slimmer rod and definitely Light Game oriented than for example my KGS-832st.
Can't wait to get it for some adventures back home and elsewhere!
Ill be uploading a video of the day soon where the rod's action can be clearly seen.
Tight Lines!
Gear used
Rod: MajorCraft Crostage travel CRX-784LG
Reel: Shimano Stradic 1000Fc
Mainline: Duel Hardcore x4 PE0.6
Leader: Toray Excellent fluorocarbon 6.8lbs
Lures: Breaden Metalmaru 13g and various metals under 10g.
Was on the rocks by about 16:00 and had another hour till high tide. The place was alive with birdlife and I was sure I'd find plenty of coalies to have fun with.
As I was expecting fish to be slightly deeper still, I put on a 13gr Breaden Metalmaru, a prawn imitating lure that casts well and works well with slow retrieve and light jerks. Also, it has a nice fall due to the little spinner at the tail.
Within the first couple casts, I got hit OTD near the bottom! The fish felt heavy and it clearly wasn't the intended target. I seemed to have located a group of medium-sized pollack that would intercept my metal lures (lost the metalmaru on the third fish ðŸ˜). For some reason, fish tend to hit better OTD early on in the season and I find that the fall rate is a very important factor...
 |
| A handy little lure for finicky fish. |
Seeing that there were larger fish in the area I took out the heavier gear and put on a 30g pink slow jig. I thought that it was still a small profile yet it was a slimmer model and sunk faster than the usual wide slow jigs. I suppose that the faster slow rate along with the pink colour might have put off the fish as I didn't get a single bite after 20mins of covering the same area!
I decided to switch to a more natural coloured (blue) jig, yet heavier (50g) but with a slower fall due to the wide shape. Also, this jig had more action during the retrieve. I was thinking that the most important factor was the slow fall and natural look of the lure and after a few casts over already-covered ground, I got a hit and soon after landed a decent fish.
 |
| It's a jungle down there... |
After another one on the heavier gear, I decided to switch back to the light rod as its just so much more fun and I was sure that the coalies wouldn't be too far..
After a few more pollock landed and lost I started to get hits up in the water column and towards the end of the retrieve... Finally, the coalies were in and I managed to get a few nice ones!
 |
| Note the light lip hook.. |
 |
| Decent sized pollock.. |
 |
| And decent sized coalies... |
 |
| The rod was made for fish like this one! |
 |
| Cant wait for surface action! |
What surprised me was that most of the fish were neatly hooked on the lips and at times only from one hook of the treble... Most missed hits didn't follow up and also a few fish got unhooked during the fight... Also, plenty of fish still with lice and worms on them...This leads me to believe that the fish though relatively well grouped, weren't actually feeding very aggressively and the 'attractiveness' of the light presentation was what made them commit. Reckon a few more weeks and they will be in proper form!
I have to say that I was very impressed with the rod... Its medium actioned and bends nicely into those better fish while still having a very sensitive tip that lets you know what a 4g blade is doing 20m down. It was more comfortable with metals up to 13g and even though its rated to 15g, its a much slimmer rod and definitely Light Game oriented than for example my KGS-832st.
Can't wait to get it for some adventures back home and elsewhere!
Ill be uploading a video of the day soon where the rod's action can be clearly seen.
Tight Lines!
Gear used
Rod: MajorCraft Crostage travel CRX-784LG
Reel: Shimano Stradic 1000Fc
Mainline: Duel Hardcore x4 PE0.6
Leader: Toray Excellent fluorocarbon 6.8lbs
Lures: Breaden Metalmaru 13g and various metals under 10g.